For the Love of Thanes and Dragons
by Phenatic Rabit
Summary: The things a housecarl must be willing to endure.


Lydia was absolutely positive that if she rolled her eyes again, they would get lodged looking in the back of her head. This thought, however, did nothing to prevent her from, once again, rolling her eyes at her companion's antics.

"If she doesn't want to follow you," Lydia began with a bored drawl, "then, by all rights, she does not have to."

Aiedo Lothario looked up briefly from her struggle, her brow lined with sweat and her tanned face flushed with exertion.

"But I paid for her!" The warrior whined, her lower lip trembling.

Aiedo turned back and glared into the dark brown eyes that were staring defiantly back at her. Allie, her newly purchased war horse, flat out refused to move from the stalls. Aiedo was currently gripping onto her reigns and pulling at them, but Allie held her ground, and their game of tug-of-war has been going on for hours; the sun was nearly set.

"Let's rest for now," Lydia suggested with a shrug. "She's probably just wary of her new owner."

Aiedo growled and knocked heads with the horse, who blew out a puff of air and tried to shove her back. "Wary be damned! I was going to try to collect a bounty nearby before nightfall, but clearly that is out of the question now."

Allie neighed indignantly and reared back, kicking her legs, and Aiedo, in her shock, lost the grip on the reigns and fell back onto the ground. In her daze, she had the sense to quickly roll to the side to avoid being trampled by hooves. When she was a good distance from the wild beast, she jumped back to her feet. She watched as the horse backed into the stall; their eyes caught and held.

Their hard gazes weren't wavering.

"You two are unbelievable." Lydia sighed, shaking her head.

While the two continued their stare-off, Lydia walked up behind Aiedo, and Aiedo jumped up at the feel of her wandering hand.

"Ugh!" Lydia grunted when Aiedo tried to shoo her away whilst laughing because, apparently, Lydia was tickling her. "Stop squirming!" When she had what she was seeking, she stepped away, and Aiedo fell to the ground, still laughing and clutching at her sides. Lydia tsked, her lips twisting in displeasure.

With the item in hand, she approached the horse that was now watching her. Lydia stopped a couple of feet away, smiled reassuringly, and held up her hand, revealing a green apple in her grasp. Allie immediately perked up. She stretched her neck, and when it was within reach, snapped her teeth, but Lydia had snatched it away at the last second.

Waving the apple tantalizingly, Lydia took a few steps back. Allie huffed and took a few steps forward. Lydia continued this maneuver until they were a considerably distance away from the stalls, where she rewarded the horse with the apple and a rub on the neck. Allie seemed pleased with both. Lydia was still rubbing her neck when an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Well, shit. I've never thought you as being an animal person."

"How did you suspect that I've been able to put up with you otherwise?" Lydia questioned dryly, and then Aiedo laughed, because Aiedo, in Lydia's case, always did.

* * *

.0.

"A sneer on your lip, but want in your eye."

Lydia focused on the woman sitting in front of her. Was she sneering? The knowing smile on Aiedo's face said that she was, but she always sneered when she was in the presence of the other woman.

"I just don't see how you can call that which you are wearing armor," Lydia said with a frown, genuinely perplexed.

"You mean this?" Aiedo questioned, holding out her arms and motioning to her weathered leather armor. "It has done me well so far."

"And I don't see how!" Lydia leaned forward a bit, scrutinizing. "There are just so many uncovered areas; it's a wonder you still yet live."

"Caught your attention, have I?" Aiedo smirked and wagged her eyebrows.

Again with the flirting. It was as futile as it was at first, but Lydia still managed to roll her eyes.

"You're better off wasting your breath on whores."

"Whores require money. I don't have any septims to give, so I suppose that you will do."

When Lydia looked at her sharply, Aiedo winked, and Lydia cursed. She fell into her trap again. Blasted. Lydia's expression is smoldering.

"The armor," Lydia forced between clinched teeth.

Aiedo, thoroughly amused, hitched her shoulders. "What about it?"

"Get rid of it." Lydia held up her hand to stop the witty retort she saw forming on her lips. "If we are going to make this companionship work, you could at least wear armor fit for a true warrior; you're just asking to be skewered."

Aiedo hummed as she considered the thought.

"Stand up, please," she said before standing herself. Lydia looked at her crossly but stood, and Aiedo beckoned her forward. When she was standing before her, Aiedo looked her up and down and tsked. "Now, prepare yourself."

Before she could react, Lydia found herself breathless and staring up at the ceiling of Breezehome. She blinked, and then her body flared with a sharp pain. Weight settled on her abdomen, and then Aiedo's - when-is-it-never - smirking face came into view.

"And that is why I wear light armor - I'm much faster, more fluently. I even gave you three seconds to respond, which is more than enough time for someone to gut you through and through." Lydia opened her mouth to protest, but Aiedo quieted her with a soft rap to the head. "I saw you the other day, when we came across that bandit raid. You were as graceful as a headless chicken."

Lydia grunted then, which vaguely sounded like a laugh. "I was injured from the battle prior."

"Excuses, excuses," Aiedo said with a grimace, shooing away said excuses with a wave of her hand.

After a moment, she stopped, and then looked down at her. Lydia didn't like the look forming in her golden eyes. Aiedo smirked as if she knew, and she placed both palms on either side of Lydia's head and leaned in close. Too close.

Honey Mead. That is what her breath smelled of, and it was only then that Lydia found herself consciously aware of the staggeringly large amount of empty bottles around them.

"You know," Aiedo started in a dangerously low voice, "I kind of like this position, you beneath me; it's fitting."

Lydia blanched.

"If you don't get off of me, I might just have to scream."

To her increasing horror, Aiedo laughed, a deep and bellowing laugh that was filled with a certain type of _hunger._

"My dear girl," she cooed, touching her cheek, "I think that was my plan all along."

* * *

.0.

"Are you sure you don't want to ride along?"

"For the millionth time, yes, I'm sure." Lydia flecked the damp strands of hair, wiped the perspiration on her forehead, and rolled her eyes. It happened without much thought now, much like breathing in air. "Besides, there's not enough room."

Aiedo turned Allie around and smiled down at her. "Oh come now, you're not _that_ big."

Lydia wisely bit her tongue to keep from retorting - not that she was afraid of offending her, it's just that Aiedo could _not_ be offended. She would have just laughed it off, and their game of biting comebacks would have prolonged until the dragons were upon them.

Aiedo must have noticed her reluctance to respond, because she frowned, and Aiedo's frowning face was a sight to revel in.

But then, in a blink of an eye, she was smirking again, and then it was Lydia's turn to frown. Aiedo jumped off of the saddle. Lydia watched her, curious.

Was she...

As if reading her mind, Aiedo turned to her, smirked, and motioned for her to follow as she started to walk, pulling Allie along by the reigns. Lydia would have commended her for at least trying, but they were barely a mile in before Aiedo was panting, sweating profusely, and clinging onto Allie for support as her legs dragged on behind her.

"By the Divines," she breathed. "Now I know why I purchased a horse in the first place. How can you do this _all_ of the time?"

Lydia deliberately chose not to answer her. She just shook her head sadly at the thought of the hundreds and thousands of people who were putting their hopes and dreams and lives into the hands of this woman. It has been months since she was assigned to the supposedly Dragonborn, and Lydia was still far from impressed.

Despite all of her complaining, Aiedo kept walking, or being dragged. But it was also high noon, and they were still miles away from the next Hold. Blasted. Aiedo could have done them both a favor by just galloping the rest of the way - she would have kept up.

Aiedo suddenly stopped, and Lydia stopped just short of running into her. Lydia opened her mouth to question her actions but Aiedo held up a hand, and so she stayed quiet, and watched and waited as Aiedo slowly turned her head left and right.

Allie was getting restless. Lydia was quickly approaching restlessness. With a sudden flourish, Aiedo unhooked the shield strapped to her back and unsheathed her blade, and Lydia had the sense to do the same just as an arrow struck and bounced off of her hard plated armor.

A group of bandits rushed out of the trees.

"Get 'em!"

To their surprise, Allie was the first into the fray. She charged head forward, with no hesitation; her sudden charge made the bandits falter.

"Now I know why I purchased a _war_ horse," Aiedo said, staring at the bucking and kicking horse appreciatively.

Lydia took the diversion to rush forward and take them by surprise. She came beside an unsuspecting bandit that had the stature of a twig, and wasn't even fitted in proper armor; it was fur. He looked young, younger than the rest, but that didn't stop Lydia from slamming the edge of her shield to his throat, crushing the windpipe.

He fell to the ground, clutching his throat, and the bandits near them were alerted by his loud sputtering. The next to challenge her was an Argonian, and her lips curled in disgust. After blocking his blow, she wasted no time in dispatching him with two precise swipes of her blade, one to the chest and the other to the neck. The other two fell just as quickly as the first.

Amateurs.

The only one that put up a real fight was the bandit that came up to her with slight caution, the one Lydia guessed was the bandit chief with their steel armor and helmet. The bandit chief was surprisingly quick-footed, especially with her size and the weight of her armor; she even managed to bypass Lydia's defense a couple of times.

Lydia briefly wondered if what Aiedo said about light armor making her swift was bogus, but if that were true, then she could no longer blame her heavy armor for being felled in Breezehome the other day. So she pushed the thought away, and in its stead she bashed the chief with her shield, circled around her and slashed at the back of her knee, forcing the bandit to her knees.

Lydia grasped her sword firmly and brought it down on the exposed part of the bandit's neck. The head, with the helmet still on, lolled to the side and the body fell forward onto the ground.

An arrow flew passed her head, taking off a few strands of hair. Sheathing her bloodied blade, Lydia turned around. Aiedo, with a bow in hand, pointed to the body that was riddled with a dozen iron arrows.

Lydia arched a brow at her, unimpressed. Aiedo grinned, sheepish, and said, "I got him."

Lydia shook her head, an one up from rolling her eyes. She ran a gloved hand through her tousled hair, saw movement and stopped. And stared. Aiedo was still grinning at her, unaware of the large brute that was hefting a war hammer above his head, and all Lydia could think was, _Of all the times to be oblivious, it had to be now?_

Running on pure instinct, Lydia launched herself forward, pushed Aiedo aside, and tackled the man to the ground. The weapon fell from his grasp, out of reach. She straddled his chest and started to wail on his face with punches that connected with a quick and powerful succession. Lydia didn't stop until he was completely motionless, his face battered and broken in. Panting and hands tingling, she looked over and saw Aiedo staring at her from her spot on the ground, wide eyed and mouth agape.

"You're so vicious!" Aiedo exclaimed with a wide smile, the kind of smile that a parent directed to a child whose actions they were pleased with. "I like it."

Lydia started to roll her eyes, caught herself and stopped. Using the body as a leverage, she pushed herself up. Aiedo watched her as she approached, still smiling like the fool she was, and took the hand that Lydia offered to her. After slapping her on the shoulder, Aiedo walked passed her to go loot the corpse of valuables.

Lydia left her to it, and followed the trail of bodies that led to Allie, who was waiting patiently on the path, seemingly unscathed.

Her body count was larger than her master's.

Lydia grabbed a hold on her reigns and climbed onto her back. She clicked her tongue and turned and started Allie in a trot. She started to hum a tune of no importance, using it to drown out Aiedo's shouts of protest.

* * *

.0.

The dragon swooped down and unleashed a turret of flames as it passed overhead. Lydia placed the shield in front of her form, and the flames repelled as if there was an invisible force field. She did grimaced, though, as the heat prickled her skin and started to smolder. With a wide sweep of her arm, Lydia swept the flames surrounding her away.

The dragon circled around, dived towards the ground, unfurled its wings and dropped onto all fours. Lydia stumbled as the earth beneath her shook. The dragon marched it way to her, its maws opening to spit fire. Lydia shield herself again, and when it was close enough, she reared back her arm and bashed the dragon in its face, making it throw its head back and roar out in pain.

"You're doing great, Lydia!" She heard Aiedo say from... somewhere. Her cheers sounded exceptionally soft—almost as if she was yards away.

"I'm doing phenomenal, considering I'm doing this by myself!" Lydia circled around to the dragon's side and started slashing at its wings. "Aren't you supposed to be the Dragonborn?"

"There is a small possibility of that, yes. Besides, I am helping. I'm using the bow!"

The dragon turned its hulking body and Lydia rolled to side, narrowly avoiding being whipped by the dragon's tail. She looked around and finally spotted Aiedo, who _was_ yards away, and was indeed using the bow.

"You're terrible with the bow!"

Upon releasing the notched arrow and somehow missing horribly, Aiedo looked at her, signature grin already in place, eyes bright and child-like. Eyes that, an instant later, went wide with terror.

"Lyd-" was all she heard before she something slammed hard into her chest, sending her into flight. After a moment in the air, she finally landed in a skidding slide that had her tumbling over before the momentum finally left her.

With a pained groaned, Lydia rolled on her back, coughing in dry fits. Her face felt cool and wet, and stung in certain places. She heard the dragon cry out - or was that a Shout? - and then the ground beneath her trembled.

There is silence, saved for the blood rushing in her ears. She could then hear the sound of grass being crushed underfoot. The color beyond her eyelids darkened, and Lydia opened her eyes and saw Aiedo peering down at her curiously. After accessing her condition for a moment, Aiedo sighed in relief. Waves of color started encircling her as she absorbed the dead dragon's soul.

"Now see," Aiedo began in that sarcastic tone of hers, the last wisps of color flowing into her body, "had you not been bashing on my combat skills, this incident could have been avoided."

Lydia must have taken a blow to the head, because she was about to nod her head in agreement. She found the movement to be too wearisome, so instead she sighed and closed her eyes again. There is rustling beside her, a clink of the elven armor that Aiedo had finally progressed to. Lydia didn't have to open her eyes to see what she was doing.

Aiedo turned her head to the side and grinned at her housecarl. "You know, I think that I will keep you," she said, reaching over to tousle Lydia's already disheveled hair before folding her arms behind her head.

They laid there in the middle of the burnt field in silence, sharing the space with large dragon bones and Allie, who was idly eating from the remaining patches of grass like nothing was amiss. If this is what she had to endured for the rest of her waking days, then this is fine; it was tolerable. It wasn't what she had in mind, but, then again, nothing has been going as she expected, not since she was assigned to Aiedo Lothario.

* * *

**For some of you, this is not what you expected, and I just wanted to take the time to say sorry. Due to some unforeseeable events, I was forced to erase all of my data in order to save my beloved computer, and I lost all of my progress on _Strange Behavior. _**

**Luckily, I was smart enough to upload the next chapter on here, so that bit was saved, but now I don't even know how to continue on. That doesn't mean that I will stop working on it, it will just take a while to get it back on track.**

** Again, I'm sorry, but I hope that you enjoyed this little one-shot. Maybe now I can start on other stories that I've been meaning to work on.**


End file.
